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Interview: The Romantics

THE ROMANTICS TO PLAY THE LOTOS MUSIC FESTIVAL...

The Romantics

The Romantics will play the LOTOS Music Festival at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, in Boca Raton, Florida on Friday, May 19, 2017. In advance of their performance, Wally Palmar of The Romantics took time out of his busy schedual to talk to me from his hotel room in Virginia. Here is the audio of this interview in it's entirety. Click on the YouTube box below to hear it.

Here is the biographical history of Thge Romantics:

The Romantics' original lineup consisted of lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and harmonicist Wally Palmar, lead guitarist and vocalist Mike Skill, bassist and backing vocalist Rich Cole, and drummer and lead vocalist Jimmy Marinos. All four band members made songwriting contributions to the group, but Palmar and Skill were considered the band's primary tunesmiths. After a few years of playing local and regional gigs in Detroit and the Midwest, this lineup of the Romantics recorded the band'sself-titled debut albumfor Nemperor Records in September 1979 with British producerPete Solley. The group's true record debut was the 1978 single on Spider Records, "Little White Lies" / "I Can't Tell You Anything", followed that year by the Bomp single "Tell It to Carrie" / "First in Line" (on theBomp! Recordslabel). All of these were re-recorded later for the first LP.

Mike Skill left the band after the release of its second album,National Breakout, in 1981. He was replaced by lead guitarist Coz Canler. This lineup of the band recorded the albumStrictly Personalin 1982, before Rich Cole left the band that year and was replaced by a returning Skill, who then became the band's bassist.

The Romantics achieved their greatest commercial success in 1983/84 with the release of the albumIn Heat, which was awarded a gold album in the United States, for selling over 500,000 copies. It eventually sold 900,000 US copies. "In Heat" was also awarded a gold album in Canada (for over 50,000 copies sold). The first single taken fromIn Heat, "Talking In Your Sleep", hit #3 (for four weeks) on theBillboardHot 100chart. It hit #1 on theHot Dance Club PlayandAlbum Rock Trackscharts.

It was a global success, scoring in many other countries: (No. 2Canada, No. 14Australia, No. 18Germany, No. 20Netherlands, No. 15South Africa, No. 5Sweden, No. 20Switzerland, etc.). A second single, "One In A Million", peaked at No. 37 during the following year on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and also went to # 21 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The Romantics' music videos were frequently shown on the cable television networkMTVduring this period, solidifying the band's popularity. Also during 1983, the Romantics played U.S. and international concert tours in support ofIn Heat, and appeared on such pop music-themed television shows asSolid Gold,American Bandstand, andSoul Train.

In 1984, drummer Jimmy Marinos left the Romantics, and he was replaced byDavid Petratos, who would serve as the band's drummer until 1990. This lineup recorded one album,Rhythm Romance, in 1985. Detroit keyboardist Barry Warner was also added to the band for the following 1985–1986 tour.

In the late 1980s, the Romantics discovered that their managers had been misappropriating the profits earned by the band from its records and live performances. Additionally, one of their releases (the aforementioned "What I Like About You") had been licensed for use in television commercials without the band's knowledge or approval. Consequently, the Romantics filed a lawsuit against their management in 1987, and the legalities involved prevented the band from recording new music until the mid-1990s.

FormerBlondiedrummerClem Burkereplaced David Petratos as the Romantics' drummer in 1990. For much of the 1990s, the Romantics played obscure performances in small venues, largely forgotten and out of the public spotlight.

The Romantics' fortunes began to rise again in the middle of the 1990s, as the band's success in its lawsuit against its former management freed the band to record again (and ensured that future earnings from the licensing of Romantics songs would go to the band). The first fruit of the band's new recording activity was the 1993 EPMade In Detroit. Several Romantics greatest hits packages were issued during the 1990s, as was the live albumThe King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: The Romantics Live In Concert, a 1996 release of an October 1983 recording of a Romantics concert inSan Antonio, Texasat the height of the band's popularity.

Jimmy Marinos, the Romantics' original drummer, temporarily returned to the band for a series of performances in 1996–1997 (with Clem Burke returning to the Romantics' drumstool after Marinos departed again), and late 1990s nostalgia for 1980s pop culture caused a minor resurgence of interest in the band. In 2003, twenty years after the release of their most commercially successful album,In Heat, the Romantics released61/49– a more roots rock andblues-oriented record than the band's previous efforts. Although Clem Burke performed as the band's primary drummer on the release, original drummer Jimmy Marinos is featured on half of the tracks. The album was not a great commercial success, but won the Romantics a newfound critical respect that they had not enjoyed during their popular and commercial heyday in the early 1980s.61/49also offered proof that despite the band's years out of the public spotlight, the Romantics remain a potent musical unit.

The Romantics continue to play live concerts today The band is said to currently scheduled to release new original recordings.

Sony was rumored to have had plans for the release of a special 12-song CD/DVD during February, 2006 that would feature the Romantics' best songs, with the flip side of the CD/DVD featuring videos, recent interviews, and other clips. To date,[when?] this CD/DVD has not been issued and additional information about its release has not been publicized.

Rich Cole returned to the band after a long absence in 2010. Longtime lead guitarist Coz Canler left the band in 2011, allowing Skill to return to the original lead guitarist role he held in the band.